"Battle Royale" May Become a TV Series

There's no denying that "The Hunger Games" is extremely similar to "Battle Royale," no matter how much "Hunger Games" author Suzanne Collins claims she's never heard of the Japanese novel/film.

At one point "Battle Royale" was going to get a US remake, but the plan has since changed. LA Times has learned that the CW has been in negotiations to turn the property into an hour-long TV series. The only thing keeping the deal from coming together is author Koushun Takami's approval.

Released back in 2000, "Battle Royale" revolves around a group of teenagers who are forced to fight for survival in a government-imposed competition. A sequel followed in 2003.

In the wake of Colorado, its hard to imagine this getting green lighted based on Hollywood's direction to review violence associated with entertainment. Granted this is for television format. But the underlying message it sends out to the youth of today: Its cool to kill if you are randomly inserted into a situation, given weapons, form alliances, rely on being resourceful...I shudder at the thought. Too soon, even for TV.